Sworn of the Locust
'Faction: Sworn of the Locust' '' Principle: To escape the snares and toils of the vampiric condition by any means necessary, regardless of morality. ''Doctrine: ''To set one's own needs and goals above all others, and the fellow Knights of the Locust above anyone except oneself. They think of this as 'transcending typical philosophies of right and wrong', and accept both diablerie and the theft of humanity as tools in their arsenal of self-improvement. They have learned to diablerize humans, which grants significantly fewer benefits than consuming the soul of a vampire but remains darkly delightful and potentially addictive, as well as giving them access to a unique Coil. ''Membership: ''The Sworn of the Locust are an exclusively Dragon faction, and only ever take members from within their own covenant. Of those, the Sworn of the Axe and the Sworn of the Dying Light are more likely than the Sworn of the Mysteries to appeal to the Locust Knights. Those who follow the Paths of Fate find that those with the Devil as their Fate Card make excellent prospects. Members take oath in secret, and ''keep ''it secret on pain of Final Death - or Amaranth. Because they are a secret society within a secret society they are extremely careful about recruiting, and avoid any individuals whom an outsider would peg as obvious candidates for an evil conspiracy. 'Benefits' • The Knight learns The Way of the Locust - how to diablerize humans. This requires a Resolve + Stamina, reflexively contested by the subject's Resolve + Composure. The soul is captured rather than destroyed, and can be held for a number of nights equal to Locust's Willpower dots minus the victim's Willpower dots, or until dawn (whichever is greater). At the end, the Kindred rolls Stamina and keeps Vitae equal to her successes, vomiting up any other Vitae along with the captured soul. The Locust Knight is also eligible to learn the Coil of the Locust as an out-of-Clan Discipline, the effects of which are only applicable while in possession of a captured human soul. •• There are no formal ranks among the Locust Knights. Learning a new Tier of the Coil of the Locust automatically grants a dot of status in the Faction, enabling the Knight to learn the next Tier. This dot of Status is therefore awarded when the character has learned the First Tier, and enables the character to learn the Second. ••• This dot of Status is awarded when the character has learned the Second Tier, and enables the character to learn the Third. •••• This dot of Status is awarded when the character has learned the Third Tier, and enables the character to learn the Fourth. ••••• This dot of Status is awarded when the character has learned the Fourth Tier, and enables the character to learn the Fifth. 'The Coil of the Locust' • Soul Mask: The character's aura becomes as vivid as a mortal's, and she casts a reflection - though from the corner of the eye, the reflection appears to be that of the person whose soul she has stolen. Also appears in all visual media without any cost in Willpower. Does not provoke, and is not subject to, the effects of Predator's Taint. •• Marrow of the Spirit: The character gain 9-agains on Social actions made against people the victim knew in life. Such people find the Knight oddly familiar. ••• Echo of the Soul: The character can access factual knowledge possessed by the victim with a reflexive Intelligence + Composure roll. •••• Ease of the Spirit: The character no longer applies penalties or bonuses to their interactions with humans on the basis of their own Humanity. ••••• The Soul's Resolve: Consuming the victim's soul refills the Knight's spent Willpower, one for one to the value of the victim's unspent Willpower. Unlike Vitae, this is not purged when the soul wins release. Additionally, while in possession of the soul the Knight may expend Willpower to gain +4 dice on an action instead of the usual +3. 'Source''' ''The Ordo Dracul, ''pp 138-140, 176-177. Category:Sworn of the Locust Category:Ordo Dracul Category:Factions Category:Cults Category:Translations Category:Coils